Neighbours fighting to reduce the noise coming from a playground just yards from their homes have defended their legal action online after criticism on Facebook.

Roger Price and his wife Dr Catherine Bentley-Thomas set up the website www.winkfieldrow.com to defend themselves after a petition was launched supporting the playground in Locks Ride they say is too noisy.

The couple, who have taken the legal action along with a number of other people living nearby, say national news coverage of the trial has created a distorted image of what they wanted to achieve.

Campaigners wanting to keep the playground have placed banners at the park calling for it to be saved as the £150,000 play area is a popular destination for local children.

District Judge Andrew Vickers is due to give a decision on the homeowners’ dispute with Winkfield Parish Council today.

If he finds in favour of the neighbours, the park could be moved or its “Splash Park” facility closed.

In an open letter on the site Mr Price says: “The park will not be closed, no one wants the park closed, no one has ever wanted the park closed, and everyone thinks the park is a fantastic facility.

“The purpose of the action is to get Winkfield Parish Council to take the residents’ concerns seriously and have the equipment moved or modified so it doesn’t create a noise nuisance.

“The residents cannot understand why it wasn’t sited at the west end of the field where it would not have created a problem.

“These people are not ‘snobs’ or ‘old gits’ or ‘child haters’, many of them have children and like the park very much.

“The park was sited and built without any consultation with those who live next to it.”

The petition in support of the playground has more than 1,130 signatures.

For the full report on the decision see next week’s Bracknell Forest Standard.